Former Vice President Kamala Harris criticized President Donald Trump for starting a war with Iran, saying that if she won the 2024 presidential election, she “absolutely” wouldn’t have started the conflict.
When asked if she would have started the war if she were president, Harris said: “Absolutely not.”
“Let’s be clear about this,” Harris said at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna on Tuesday. “Whatever is being negotiated, this president is going to declare victory.”
Harris’s remarks come after Trump announced on Saturday the United States had reached a peace deal with Iran, ending the monthslong conflict in the Middle East that started in February when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran.
Since the announcement, details about what’s in the deal have started to emerge, including the U.S. ending its naval blockade of Iran, the Strait of Hormuz reopening, and the fighting between the nations coming to an end, including Israel attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iranian officials have suggested that half of the $24 billion in frozen assets will be released before the nuclear negotiations phase begins, but the Trump administration continues to deny these claims.
Vance confirmed on Monday that the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the U.S. was “already signed” digitally. The vice president is expected to be at the formal signing of the peace deal on Friday in Geneva on behalf of the U.S.
Harris criticized the deal, saying it will result in the U.S. being in the same position as it was before Trump attacked Iran, pointing to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement former President Barack Obama negotiated in 2015, restricting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
“[The U.S.] will end up where we were after the JCPOA, and [Trump] will call that a victory,” Harris said. “The JCPOA he withdrew from.”
The former vice president’s comments about the similarities of the Trump deal to the previous nuclear agreement echoed those of other Democrats, including Obama.
In an interview with ABC News, Obama argued that it’s “doubtful” any agreement would be better or different from the one he brokered. Vance hit back at the former president’s remarks, saying the major difference is that Gulf States “love” the Trump administration’s deal with Iran.
In her appearance at the climate summit, Harris slammed Trump’s decision to attack Iran, saying it is a “war the American people did not want.”
“This is a war of choice,” Harris said. “This is a president who has proven himself to be entirely self-indulgent, and we will see what happens in the coming hours and days in terms of the negotiation, and really it’s a concept of an agreement and where it ends up.”
The former vice president continued to criticize the war, highlighting its impact on Americans at the gas pump. The national average for gas has been dropping for three weeks in a row, currently at $4.12, due to crude oil prices remaining below $100 per barrel, according to an AAA report on June 11.
Harris argued Americans wouldn’t have to spend more on gas if Trump had never started the war.
“But there is no question that there is a direct correlation between this war of choice and what has happened in terms of gas prices,” she said.
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The Austrian World Summit, where Harris made the comments on a panel with Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an annual climate conference in Austria that the actor and former California governor, along with Monika Langthaler, started in 2017 to offer “concrete solutions” to address the climate crisis and connect leaders.
Notably, at the conference, Harris reunited with her former 2024 running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), who is also speaking at the event. While it cannot be heard what the two discussed in the video captured by CNN anchor Elex Michaelson, the two appear to hug each other.